Top Diaries

Halftime for the Stanford/Notre Dame football game. Stanford ahead although the betting went in Notre Dame's favor. Would put on my STANFORD pullover but I'm showering in a bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wp4O7v5320

by THE Twank (yatta blah blah @ blah.com) on Sat Oct 13th, 2012 at 05:22:11 PM EST

Professional Disinformation (4.00 / 7)

I watched clint eatwood's film on j.edgar Hoover tonight. If i ever meet leo again, i will tell him he shouldn't have made that film.

Many pundits write or speak of the Hollywood Left, and whether there's any there to that supposed there, this film was a clear piece of right wing disinformation. Plus, it was a truly horrible film, with no clear attempt at being filmic or even interesting.

(I have never read a single review or description of this film, in fact had forgotten it was made. I have no perception of what others think.)

Eastwood has made a brilliant feignt against the horror legacy that was hoover, the legacy of red scare, national security, homeland security, the Patriot Act, and all destruction of the fantasy that was the amurkan dream.

Brilliantly done, it made Hoover a flawed, even sick, man... but one who was ultimately driven by a love for protecting "his country," read TPTB.

The focus was on the secret files Hoover obtained through his perverse illegality with supreme power. the film shows Eleanor Roosevelt as a lesbian, and Kennedy as a philanderer, and King enjoying sex. And Hoover as just a Machiavellian character in a Machiavellian world.

Ignoring the unchecked violent, lawless abuse of power at the heart of Hoover's FBI. Which results in the horror that is democracy today.

brian grazer, hairdresser tuned propagandist using his whollyweird power, has produced one for the books. Look over here, Jedgar was a weird person with the protection of the country at his heart.

Jedgar perhaps was weird, in a psychopathic way, in the way of addiction to power. But he also set the stage for today's homeland security, with targeted assassination of radicals, and invasion with tanks and helicopters and arsenals of arsenals against people who will go down in history as non-violent freedom fighters.

Lesson: there is no more powerful force for social change than control of the media.

But this film is from a talented filmmaker who talks to empty chairs when supporting a powerful puppet for president.

(why am i so dedicated as to watch this shit?)

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sat Oct 13th, 2012 at 06:23:55 PM EST

Re: Professional Disinformation (none / 0)

Wish to be clear about something i writed.

with targeted assassination of radicals, and invasion with tanks and helicopters and arsenals of arsenals against people who will go down in history as non-violent freedom fighters.

Was not referring to drones against Taliban and weddings. WAS referring to assassinations of left wing radicals in the US, and the armed attack against AIM at Wounded Knee.

(and i consider myself to be scientifically spiritual. yet i always must refer to violence in this "civilization."

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sat Oct 13th, 2012 at 06:33:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Professional Disinformation (none / 1)

"Whether he did the right choices or did the right thing, or the right selection all the time, remains to be seen."

-- Can't Eatwood

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sat Oct 13th, 2012 at 07:13:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Professional Disinformation (none / 0)

As you say, Hoover was a right wing zealot whose idea of America as a plutocratic empire more or less doomed all democratic aspirations post WWII

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 04:04:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Professional Disinformation (4.00 / 2)

There were a lot of Americans who were upset that in the great war between socialism and fascism, the U.S. came down clearly on the side of socialism...

by asdf on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 01:02:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Professional Disinformation (none / 1)

Well, 'clearly' might be a stretch. And even then it was only for a while. But even that was upsetting to many 'patriots'.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 01:48:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Professional Disinformation (none / 0)

Americans get Jedgar, the UK get Jedward.

-----
sapere aude

by Number 6 on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 05:41:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

watched the first 2 parts of 'black mirror', some supremely strange stuff.

anyone seen it?

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sat Oct 13th, 2012 at 07:42:42 PM EST

saw the first one, but was supremely busy and managed to miss the nest two.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 04:08:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]

the second one is slightly better than the first, imo, bu they both are really good. waiting for the right moment to savour the last one.

charlie brooker is fantastic when he's on, less so in his guardian columns.

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue Oct 16th, 2012 at 02:47:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]

http://www.anecdote.com.au/archives/2012/10/how_to_respond.html

For Mig, TBG:

Responding to misinformation:

This is a really bad post, with no evidence listed, but it syncs up with the evidence I've seen. So maybe it's a starting point...

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 05:18:26 AM EST

In fact, there is a citation at the bottom that I'd missed...

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 05:19:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

No evidence listed (none / 0)

Well, it references one published paper, and a book:

Lewandowsky, S., Ecker, U.K.H., Seifert, C.M., Schwarz, N. & Cook, J. 2012, 'Misinformation and Its Correction: Continued Influence and Successful Debiasing', Psychological Science in the Public Interest, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 106-31.
Cialdini, R.B. 1993, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Quill Publishers, New York.

I distribute. You re-distribute. He gives your hard-earned money to lazy scroungers. -- JakeS

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 05:44:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Weekend Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

isn't the articlecontradicting itself with

The worse way to combat misinformation is to just set the record straight by merely setting out the facts:

our strategy was created by the executive over a three week period

we used a well defined and accepted strategy formulation method

the board has approved the strategy and all the executives are committed to its execution

It turns out that by simply stating the facts merely reinforces the misinformation. The original story gets stronger.

So what do you do? Well, you can only displace a story with a better story. And in fact you need to tell two stories to correct misinformation.
The first story should explain how the misinformation happened in the first place.
...
The second story should then explain what actually happened.

So, what is this telling us? That you need to present the facts as a compelling story rather than as bullet points?

I distribute. You re-distribute. He gives your hard-earned money to lazy scroungers. -- JakeS

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 05:48:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Also,

A couple of caveats. 1) The stories you tell must be what happened: no spin. 2) Your leaders must be able to tell these stories orally and tell them often.

I distribute. You re-distribute. He gives your hard-earned money to lazy scroungers. -- JakeS

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 05:59:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

q.v. narrative logic, etc.

Or if you're Republican, you can just lie.

I already have Cialdini's Persuasion. It's recommended for non-Machiavellians.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 06:02:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Weekend Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

Yes, and:

you can only displace a story with a better story

Better can be about the techne of storytelling - or it can be about the way the story plays into existing frames.

But also, it's about finding ways to undermine/subvert the stories that the opposition are using - or their linkage with existing frames.

What's depressing is that repetition is very powerful, but on the left we have no media ownership, so straight repetition cannot be the linchpin of the strategy.

I'm working on a diary about this, I mostly put this comment up as reminder for later...

by Metatone (metatone [a|t] gmail (dot) com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 06:19:09 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Weekend Open Thread (4.00 / 2)

A better response might have been:

"We hired Bob based largely on his demonstrated ability to generate effective strategies and for the similarity between the challenges he faced in his previous position and those we face. So he did, to a considerable degree, adapt what had worked previously to our situation. There were several meetings with the Board and others to confirm the appropriateness of this strategy for our challenges."

Unless those assertions are laughably absurd on their face that should work. They also could add:

"This minimized the time and money we would otherwise had to have spend on expensive 'strategy consultants'."

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 09:50:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

With the proviso that the 'strategy' actually seem meaningful to a significant portion of employees. I grew weary of 'vision statements' from the blind.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 01:52:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Study links eating chocolate to winning Nobels

For those with a sweet tooth. :-)

5:32PM EDT October 10. 2012 - Take this with a grain of salt, or perhaps some almonds or hazelnuts: A study ties chocolate consumption to the number of Nobel Prize winners a country has and suggests it's a sign that the sweet treat can boost brain power.
No, this does not appear in the satirical Onion newspaper. It's in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, which published it online Wednesday as a "note" rather than a rigorous, peer-reviewed study.
The author -- Dr. Franz Messerli, of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital and Columbia University in New York -- writes that there is evidence that flavanols in green tea, red wine and chocolate can help "in slowing down or even reversing" age-related mental decline -- a contention some medical experts may dispute.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 08:20:25 AM EST

So that's why the EU won the Peace prize.....

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 08:35:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]

So it was all down to Belgium?

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 04:09:18 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Why Belgium? The study referred to quantity of chocolate, not quality.

by gk (g k quattro due due sette "at" gmail.com) on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 04:20:22 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Good catch! If we're talking about the actual quantities of flavinoids and whatnot consumed, you have to correct the gross weight of "chocolate" consumed per country, with the average percentage of cocoa solids in the stuff for any given country. So, Ireland and the UK would presumably lose at least a couple of places in the ranking, surely?

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 04:51:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

"Keep the White out of Chocolate."

(Man, that's going to be incomprehensible to future generations.)

-----
sapere aude

by Number 6 on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 05:45:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMon1211064

That's great news! The only question now is about quantities. Namely, if I want to reverse multiple decades of age-related mental decline, how much red wine and chocolate should I be consuming per day?

There was a close, significant linear correlation (r=0.791, P<0.0001) between chocolate consumption per capita and the number of Nobel laureates per 10 million persons in a total of 23 countries). When recalculated with the exclusion of Sweden, the correlation coefficient increased to 0.862. Switzerland was the top performer in terms of both the number of Nobel laureates and chocolate consumption. The slope of the regression line allows us to estimate that it would take about 0.4 kg of chocolate per capita per year to increase the number of Nobel laureates in a given country by 1. For the United States, that would amount to 125 million kg per year. The minimally effective chocolate dose seems to hover around 2 kg per year, and the dose-response curve reveals no apparent ceiling on the number of Nobel laureates at the highest chocolate-dose level of 11 kg per year.

Hmmm. 11 kg per year is around 200 grams per week. That's only two of those familiar Lindt chocolate bars containers per week...

by asdf on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 01:12:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]

so if you're asked, you're doing it for the country

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 04:10:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Fireworks? (4.00 / 7)

No! MRI imaging of broccoli.

I distribute. You re-distribute. He gives your hard-earned money to lazy scroungers. -- JakeS

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 11:06:28 AM EST

Re: Fireworks? (none / 0)

so, that's how broccoli feels!

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 12:05:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I am a Nobel Laureate (4.00 / 7)

Since I am a citizen of an EU member country and since the EU is [supposedly] democratic, it seems like I have just won a Nobel Price! I would have liked one in chemistry, physics, or medicine (economics? no thank you!) but you take what you can get. Break out the champagne: I'm in the same elite club as Obama (hmm).

I think this is an appropriate development concurrent with the ongoing devaluation of the Peace Prize. Why is the Nobel committee so involved in current politics? Why are they using the prize as an advance payment to influence current events instead of rewarding people who have actually effected positive developments?

by epochepoque on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 12:00:58 PM EST

Re: I am a Nobel Laureate (4.00 / 3)

i think there is a nobel prize for irony, and they got confused.

or the nobel committee has fused with the onion...

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 12:07:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I am a Nobel Laureate (none / 1)

You won 0.00000002% of it.

by oliver on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 12:19:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I am a Nobel Laureate (4.00 / 2)

The real question is why there is so much attention paid to a prize that is so obviously political. Until they get around to giving Einstein about two or three more of them, they've got a problem...

by asdf on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 01:31:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I am a Nobel Laureate (4.00 / 3)

I think that for once the Peace Prize was given to a deserving recipient. The EU ended the eternal Franco-German emnity, which is incredible. The prize is only a few decades late.

Still, I'm happy the Norwegians are the ones who have to deal with the Peace Prize.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 06:21:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: I am a Nobel Laureate (none / 0)

When Nobel is raised from the grave he's going to point at the Norwegian parliament and say "gotcha!"

Feels a bit like "right complete bastard at the right time" Churchill constantly winning "Greatest Briton".

-----
sapere aude

by Number 6 on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 05:49:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

SCHAUBLE Alagarde and schauble on bbc debate today.

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 12:02:35 PM EST

Felix Baumgartner is in the air and heading towards jump altitude.

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 12:46:09 PM EST

Watching.

'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher

by Wife of Bath (kareninaustin at g mail dot com) on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 12:58:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Weekend Open Thread (4.00 / 6)

Good thing is all the free advertising for New Mexico.

Visit the State of Enchantment. Jump out of a balloon. Buy our wonderful native Arts & Crafts on the way down."
(P.S. Cash or Credit Card only)

Ever since I learnt about confirmation bias I've started seeing it everywhere

by ATinNM on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 01:34:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Federally approved ID not required!

by asdf on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 01:34:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Baumgartner (none / 0)

Can't begin to imagine letting go of the capsule, even seeing it live.

wonder why he didn't free fall longer, had something unplanned happened?

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sun Oct 14th, 2012 at 02:28:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Baumgartner (4.00 / 7)

inside of his visor had become covered in condensation and he couldn't see his instruments, so it was a guess as to when to pull the parachute, and he missed the longest free fall record by about ten seconds

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 04:13:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Baumgartner (4.00 / 3)

His mentor and predecessor Joseph Kittinger deserves no less admiration, having made a 31km jump in 1960.

The unbeaten free fall record without a drogue parachute (for initial stabilization) belongs to a Russian.

by das monde on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 08:29:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I'd be irrationally terrified of floating off into open space, more so than crashing to earth.

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 05:57:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]

What I found most striking in the footage is the horizon - being able to see the Earth's globe. But they cheated with a side-angle camera: if you figure out the angle subtended by the earth at 40 km altitude, you get 167 degrees, so the Earth would fill the entire sky. That's not how it appears in the footage.

I distribute. You re-distribute. He gives your hard-earned money to lazy scroungers. -- JakeS

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 07:20:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Baumgartner (4.00 / 3)

by Katrin on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 09:05:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]

I suspect nobody has noticed that this video is not the one you watched last night. ;-)

by Katrin on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 02:56:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

That is brilliant (none / 0)

I couldn't watch it earlier.

I distribute. You re-distribute. He gives your hard-earned money to lazy scroungers. -- JakeS

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 03:00:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

i thought it was brilliant, but didn't click 4. it actually took me 6.9 seconds to get that it wasn't the original. (I believe they have set the filmed Lego altitude record.)

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 05:14:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Baumgartner (4.00 / 2)

I can understand why people do this with Legos. I don't understand why Baumgartner does what he does or why people are so fascinated with it.

by Katrin on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 05:40:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Baumgartner (4.00 / 2)

Possibly you're not a man.

(To be honest, I don't really understand either. I only pretend to.)

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 05:41:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I always forget what a great advantage I have... :-)

by Katrin on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 05:54:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

You have to admit as far as 'man things you wouldn't understand' goes, this one's pretty harmless.

I distribute. You re-distribute. He gives your hard-earned money to lazy scroungers. -- JakeS

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 05:51:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Oh yes, there are far worse man things.
(But we mostly don't talk about them here.)

_{It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue
- Queen Elizabeth II}

by eurogreen on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 05:59:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Because it's fun and exciting.

That's it.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Mon Oct 15th, 2012 at 06:11:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]

what's so hard to understand about 'WHEEEEE'?

gambling and testosterone are joined at the hip.

It's a fine line between homage, parody, and consumer opportunism. Jess Walter

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue Oct 16th, 2012 at 02:37:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]